LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant was remarkably mortal with his shot for the Lakers. That was the good thing for the Nets.

What wasn’t too swell is that they were just as mortal – and then some – on both ends in the final 19 minutes.

After being tied five minutes in the second half – and despite Bryant shooting just 5-of-17 overall – the Nets were overwhelmed in the final quarter-and-a-half as the Lakers coasted to a 120-93 victory, improving to 12-1 with a season high points.

Thus the 6-7 Nets, who dropped below .500 again, started their annual Thanksgiving trip on a dismal note.

“We were tied and their second unit came out with a lot of energy in that third quarter and they pretty much made all the hustle plays,” said Devin Harris, who led the Nets with 21 points, 14 of them in the second quarter.

“The game was 66-66 and we settled for jump shots and then were unable to get stops,” said Nets coach Lawrence Frank, whose gang resumes their trip tonight in Sacramento. “Their size and bench was huge. It shows you a game is 48 minutes.”

After Bryant suffered through a 1-of-9, four-point first half, the Nets opened the second half shooting 6-of-30. Not going to get it done against a team the caliber of the Lakers (No. 1 in scoring, No. 6 in defense). With Bryant scoring 12 points, the Lakers were led by Pau Gasol (26) while Andrew Bynum (15) blasted them inside. And the Lakers bench – as Frank noted – was spectacular.

“The difference was the second half. We really stepped it up. The first half they were comfortable playing their game,” Gasol said. “The second half we got into them.”

Beyond Harris for the Nets there was Vince Carter, who scored 14. Brook Lopez, in his sixth start, had his third triple-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) in four games.

“As Coach says, as talented as they are, we’ve got to worry about us,” Lopez said. “And we got beat at our own game.”

The Nets were even at 66-66 when it came crashing down. The Lakers forged a 23-8 run. Bynum began the demise with a spin and dunk over Yi Jianlian. Yi next was victimized at halfcourt, where he was picked by Bryant, who soared in for a dunk. When Lamar Odom scored on a put-back, L.A. was up six. Entering the fourth, the Lakers led by 14.

And 77 seconds in, the Nets were down 19. Nice while it lasted.

The Lakers entered with the league’s No. 1 scoring offense. The Nets came with the league’s 26th scoring defense.

“Our general nature is we have a general defensive philosophy,” Frank said, “although many times you couldn’t tell this year. We’re giving up a [boat]load of points.”

The trend continued in the first half. The Lakers pulled into halftime with 56 points. But here was the surprise: The Nets had 54. And that was against the NBA’s No. 6 defense.

“We thought we could be a good defensive team because of the length of our team,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. “We still haven’t figured out if we’re tough enough on the interior to get loose balls and rebounds, so we [miss] that part of the game.”